Cori-Beth's Books

Do you ever have just one of those days where you can't seem to focus on your writing, or anything for that matter? Where your mind is all over the place? Today was one of those days for me. I wanted to go back and re-read my Escape From Eutopia book that I wrote a couple of years ago to see what could be improved on and how I am going to transition into the next book in the series. There is a total of three books in the series, by the way. But, my head has been all over the place. Get off of Facebook, get off of the internet, etc. etc. But my brain wants to stay on there and not do anything else. Stop clicking, stop scrolling! Anxiety and panic setting in. Just stop and breathe, but what if I don't want to? But I need too! Just write. But I can't. Yes I can. No I can't. Yes I can. No I can't, no I can't, no I can't! Okay, maybe that's a bit extreme considering I'm writing this. And it's helping. Sort of. Now I'm distracted writing a new blog post on a brand new blog.

I saw the question asked once if writers need to write. As a writer, I personally need to write. Do I always write? No. But I really do need to! I seriously do! Even when I'm not writing and am blocked, I need to. Even when I'm doing other things and get distracted and go off on a weird crafting tangent, I need to write. Let's just say I have a pile of origami bookmarks that I don't know what I'm going to do with... yet! Writing is in my blood and in my bones. It's even in my DNA. I'll get into the DNA stuff at a later date. I completed the Adventures of Flame Gurl series that began around 20 years ago and only wanted to do 12 books in the spin off series. But, I already have 26 running titles and their basic descriptions written out. See what I mean? I need to write! So many ideas floating around in my weird brain.

So, with all the distractions around with stalling, or maybe even self-sabotaging in not writing, I came across something to help when I find myself panicking and having anxiety attacks about writing to keep me focused. And this is not just when I'm having issues with writing. It's called the rule of 3-3-3.

So, what is the rule of 3-3-3? Name 3 things you see. ie Computer mouse, cell phone, trees. Name 3 things you hear. ie clock, computer humming, cat meowing. Name 3 things you can feel. ie Keyboard, paper, pen. The last one can also be to name 3 body parts such as your fingers, nose, and ears for example. This 3-3-3 rule has really, really helped me. The point of it is to ground you and focus you. It helps to slow your breathing and distract your brain from going all over the place. It's just something that has helped me and hopefully others can use this trick, too! So write a silly poem or paragraph or two about those three things and then write that epic novel you have been working on!

Now to get off of this blog and get back to trying to figure out what to do next in the Eutopia series! I'll keep you updated. Book three is going to be a blast!

God Bless and write on, Cori-Beth